💣 The Disastrous 118th Congress - MAGA Mike Johnson Saved by Shadow Speaker Hakeem Jeffries

[raison de arizona]

The Republicans want the Democrats to help them out in the routine task of electing a Speaker in return for... NOTHING! YOU GET NOTHING! YOU GET NOTHING! YOU ALL GET NOTHIIIIING!!!!!


https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... OWYQ56UPMQ

By Paul Kane
and
Amy B Wang

Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), who has been a prominent supporter of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), said repeatedly that Scalise has no chance of winning with only Republican support, and that the only way to reopen the House would be with Democratic support — if not by voting outright for the Republican nominee then by voting “present” to lower the threshold of votes required to win a simple majority.

“If they want the floor to be open again … we’ve got to elect a speaker,” Womack said.

Not their circus, not their monkeys.

[Suranis]

Thread reminding people of a story broken nearly a decade ago of Steve attending a David Duke Conference.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1712 ... 35762.html

Lamar White, Jr.@LamarWhiteJr

Almost 9 years ago, I broke the story about Steve Scalise attending & speaking at a white supremacist conference in 2002. Given the renewed attention, I think it's important to correct a few things the media continues to misreport. (1/25)

[raison de arizona]

WaPo reporting that Scalise has thrown in the towel. Already.

[Volkonski]

Also CNN.

[AndyinPA]

It woudn't take too many "moderate" republicans to elect Hakeem Jeffries. Just sayin'.

[Suranis]

BeeBeeCee says Steve has Steved out.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67097299

Ahem

[raison de arizona]

Stefanik is next in line and she wants it, wonder if she will go for it.

[p0rtia]

Stefanik is next in line and she wants it, wonder if she will go for it.

She might.

She posted an unbelievably stupid post this AM, congratulating Gym J for deciding to support Scalise, and then lauding him (Gym) for his leadership and many strengths.

I was delighted to point out to her that she has crossed over the line from just being a lying insurrectionist to delusional.

That said, though she might "want it" I cannot imagine the caucus voting for her en masse. She does not have the skill set to be at the head of the army.

So yea, I hope they nominate her!

[RVInit]

She might.

She posted an unbelievably stupid post this AM, congratulating Gym J for deciding to support Scalise, and then lauding him (Gym) for his leadership and many strengths.

I was delighted to point out to her that she has crossed over the line from just being a lying insurrectionist to delusional.

That said, though she might "want it" I cannot imagine the caucus voting for her en masse. She does not have the skill set to be at the head of the army.

So yea, I hope they nominate her!

[Luke]

This sounds like the time for the "DeMaio" strategy... just 4-6 Republicans need to cross over for Hakeem. Unlike Carl Gallups' "Big 'Plan A;", not THAT would be universe shattering. Changed the parties for him (2020-2022 was the same split) and 2022 to 2024. He blogged this in April 2021. Wanted to leave a comment he should hold his breath until it happened, but didn't think he'd listen.

But now, with this tiny revision, it makes sense. I'm tweeting it

In 2021, Joseph DeMaio blogged an idea in #Birther rag Post & Email that a few Members of Congress changing parties would change control. If Democrats ran the House, governing chaos would end, Speaker #HakeemJeffries would lead bipartisan solutions & GOP anarchists would be neutered.

For #SpeakerOfTheHouse, Democrats could launch a rational-based appeal to the patriotism in the minds of Republican members of the House of Representatives.

Here's the article with a few tweaks from the original misogynistic, racist article that sought to change the House balance of power four months after President Biden took office. With the total failure of the GOP House, now seems like the time for it. Credit to DeMaio and the RWNJs who came up with this.

Now. Not in 2024.
"A GROWING INFERNO"
Original: Wednesday, April 28, 2021
***
While the battle must be fought in both the House and the Senate, the better place to initiate a current-day “Battle of Lexington” is in the House of Representatives. Granted, there has not been a lot of positive support garnered for the proposal, but as Churchill commented in the dark days of World War II: “Never give up.”

Forgive the repetition, but time is running out and few options not involving swords and muskets appear on the horizon. Specifically, the House presently is composed of 435 members, 212 Democrats, 222 Republicans and 6 vacant seats. If one disregards the vacant seats, normally to be filled by special elections in the states from which the prior representative vacated, and assuming that all Democratic representatives remained faithful to “the cause” – oh…, and by the way, faithful to the future of the nation – now, if only four (4) Republicans switched party and became Democrats – again, setting aside any special elections to fill vacancies – the composition of the House would become 215 Democrats and 214 Republicans. Now. Not in 2024. Today.

Savor that unlikely, but juicy, potential for a moment. No more chaos and being incapable of governing. No more canine-licking bills internally targeting the legislative destruction of the nation. No more appropriations for ridiculous "culture wars". No more multi-trillion dollar blue-state/blue-city bailouts masquerading as “pandemic stimulus” relief. Juicy. Sweet.

This proposal, while concededly far-fetched and likely unattainable, is better than waiting for 2024. Once again, we are but 282 days of the Republican House, and the trajectory of the nation is starting to look like a shot put ball launched from a hot air balloon. If only four (4) Republicans were to “do the right thing” by switching parties now, much of the insanity could be eliminated. Any quicker solutions out there? Anyone?

Moreover, if there were 4 Republicans who had already decided that, for whatever reason, they were not going to seek re-election in 2024, their decision today would entail no future political blowback because they would be “done.” McCarthy (or whomever), McConnell and the GOP anarchists might be – to use polite language – really unhappy, but few would care about their dismay, and many more would cheer their epiphany. And as a political “last full measure” gift to the nation grounded in patriotism and fidelity to the Republic, the former Republicans’ names would go down in history. Not a bad way to end a political career.

The “outside-the-box” proposal involves immediately launching a rationally-based appeal to the patriotism buried deep in the minds of 4-6 Republican members of the House of Representatives. Their identities are at present unknown, but it is a good bet that they are Americans first and Republicans second.

There is also reason to believe that at least six – perhaps many more – House Republicans are as appalled as their Democratic colleagues at the outright despotic abuses of power now being practiced by the "burn it all down" tiny group of Republican anarchists.

Yes, Virginia…, your humble servant is painfully aware that the foregoing proposal has, on a scale of one to ten, a success potential of negative three. Maybe more. Moreover, the proposal would depend entirely upon Republican members of the House putting aside their political biases and expectations of plum committee assignments and power, an unlikely event.

And yet, without some sort of tectonic alteration of the balance of power in the Congress, we as a nation are likely headed for a cataclysmic disaster from which there likely could be no recovery. It is that serious.

He also covered this brilliant idea here https://www.thepostemail.com/2021/03/11 ... and-dance/ and https://www.thepostemail.com/2021/03/26 ... his-dance/

Think Joseph DeMaio would like this? I'll credit him when I tweet it. And my guess is still that "DeMaio" is John Charlton, Founder who founded P&E. He's still on the "masthead". I got a good laugh out of this.

[Suranis]

If you need a refresher on the rules, here is a CRS report on the whole process. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44243

[Luke]

Cross-posted from Democrats Win in 2024:

Bring it on. It's about fu*king time, a light bulb went on: "Bipartisanship is not a sin.

Voters know the disaster of the GOP civil war and inability to cooperate and help Americans. Republicans are publicly predicting they will lose the House in 2024.

46 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Bipartisan talk grows as GOP fails to find a speaker
Andrew Solender

Lawmakers in both parties are expressing growing openness, both in public and in private, to a bipartisan deal to elect a House speaker as Republicans are continually thwarted in their efforts to do it alone.

Why it matters: With House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) withdrawing despite winning his party’s nomination, some Republicans are concerned nobody can win the job with just GOP votes.

What they're saying: "There's a sentiment building around [a bipartisan deal] among Democrats and Republicans," Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), a member of Democratic leadership who represents a swing district, told Axios. "We're open to anything that's reasonable," said Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.), a member of the moderate Republican Governance Group. "Bipartisanship is not a sin." Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a perennial bipartisan dealmaker, said "at this point, there are enough Republican and Democrats saying we've got to get this fixed."
Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) said, as the situation devolves, he sees Republicans "absolutely" getting more open to a deal: "Yes, I mean you're seeing that."

State of play: With Scalise out of the running, all eyes now turn to Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a co-founder of the right-wing Freedom Caucus. But some of Jordan's GOP colleagues are already predicting he'll suffer the same fate as Scalise. "I think he's gonna have a math problem as well," said Mike Garcia (R-Calif.). Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) said "it's going to be hard" for Jordan to win.

What we're hearing: A bipartisan group of roughly ten House lawmakers is quietly holding "very" serious discussions, a moderate Republican involved in the discussions told Axios on the condition of anonymity. "The question is who gets you to the largest minority of the majority," the GOP lawmaker said. "Is it Don Bacon, who gets 20 [GOP] votes and 200 Democrats? Is it French Hill who gets 100 votes from Republicans? And the fewer Republicans, the more dangerous this is – not just politically, but structurally." Another question, the Republican said, is how many speaker candidates need to fail before people soften on the idea: "Kevin, Steve, Jordan, Emmer … how many losses do you have to have to make that an acceptable outcome?"

Between the lines: Congress is unfamiliar with bipartisan coalition governments in the vein of state legislatures and foreign governments – but the House had also never voted to oust a speaker until last Tuesday. "We are setting precedent every day," said the moderate Republican. "Whatever solution we have will be unprecedented." Democrats say their position hasn't changed from before former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted – they want "institutional reforms, rules changes that allow for bipartisan votes ... not every couple months but every day," said Landsman.

Reality check: Cross-party tensions are still raw after Democrats voted uniformly to remove McCarthy. "There was no sense of [bipartisanship] when it was the motion to vacate a week and a half ago," said Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), "so I don't think anything is credible that could be realistic at the moment." Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) expressed skepticism as well: "Has a Democrat come out and said they would support a Republican nominee?"

The bottom line: Just before Scalise dropped out, Bacon said of Republicans, "At some point we're going to be exasperated [and say], 'Okay, this is not working.'" Asked after Scalise announced if lawmakers are getting closer to that point, he told Axios: "I think we are ... It's going to be a sort of consensus opinion between a group of us." "If this goes on forever, we've got to get the country back going," said Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.).

https://www.axios.com/2023/10/13/house- ... deal-votes

[Sam the Centipede]

"Bipartisanship" is a nice term, but the reality is that too many think it's something for other people to do, that others should compromise.

Or that opponents should provide a solution to the problem of too many intransigent or extreme members in one's own group.

I don't have skin in this game, but my attitude would, I think, be that the Republicans have a majority and wish to run the show, so it's not the Democrats: duty to lift them out of holes they have dug for themselves. The Democrats are perfectly entitled (i in my view) to sit on the side, sipping tea, muttering, we keep telling you what we prefer, if you have a better plan, it's your party, your majority."

The only argument I see against a laid-back "you broke it, you fix it" approach for the Democrats is the obvious need for a functioning Congress for the national good. But there's little point in restoring function if the Republicans either use it to create more national harm, or if it just kicks the can a few yards down the road before a repeat shitshow.

[p0rtia]

Would Mchenry allow a vote if he knew five Rs were ready to vote for Hakim?

[RTH10260]

BeeBeeCee says Steve has Steved out.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67097299

Ahem

or:

The stevedore cannot handle the load

[Reality Check]

Cross posting from the other Speaker topic:

The media assumed the Republican party was normal and that after the private meeting the other night where Scalise got the nomination that they would all vote for him him in the open session like parties have always done. That was a poor assumption. This Republican party is not normal and cannot govern.

I called the other day when I said the media was anointing Scalise as if he had already been elected Speaker. The problem was they forget we are dealing with anything but a normal political party. The Republicans are a group of nihilists hell bent on blowing up government if they cannot control it.

[Suranis]

Sadly, the Republican version of Bipartisanship means that they are willing to talk. It does not mean they are willing to agree to anything, but they will talk. And thus they are being reasonable and "bipartisanlike" and it's the Democrats that are being unreasonable by not saying yes to everything. That's been the way at least since the Obamacare saga. They talk to pass blame to Democrats.

With the Media more or less in their pocket, they simply have not been humiliated enough for doing this. Like a spoiled child, they just don't see that it is possible for this to blow up in their face, or for people to turn around and blame THEM for this shit.

[RTH10260]

I guess Madison Cawthor was correct when he mentioned the DC Republican nightlife - they are looking for a masochist

[Volkonski]

Teri_Kanefield@law-and-politics.online
Scott MacFarlane
@macfarlanenews@bird.makeup
We asked Steve Scalise-ally Rep Steve Womack (R-AL) if Scalise surrogates would support Jim Jordan for House Speaker.

Womack responded: “Are you kidding me??”

[MN-Skeptic]

Jim Jordan has a challenger for the speaker’s gavel: Rep. Austin Scott

Jim Jordan has a challenger for the speaker’s gavel. Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) has filed to run against the Ohio conservative, adding a new dimension to the topsy-turvy speaker's race.

“I have filed to be Speaker of the House. We are in Washington to legislate, and I want to lead a House that functions in the best interest of the American people,” Scott wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Scott, an ally of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), informed reporters he would not support Jordan on Thursday after allies of the majority leader felt Jordan and his allies unfairly blocked the No. 2 House Republican from the gavel.

Some believe Scott’s entry into the race is designed to simply pull over Jordan critics and give the House GOP conference another choice.

“Translation: The number of people who vote for Austin will be a slightly overstated proxy for the Never Jordan people. … Others are keeping their powder dry until Jordan realizes he has no path to 217,” said one House Republican, speaking on condition of anonymity.

More than enough Republicans have stated they will oppose Jordan to block him from reaching the necessary threshold on the House floor, though he was actively trying to win over holdouts Friday morning, including a call to Scott, according to a GOP aide familiar with the matter.

If Jordan doesn't get the gavel and pulls out, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) is likely to run for the speakership, a source with direct knowledge tells POLITICO.

Meanwhile, Jordan is projecting confidence heading into the candidate forum, scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday.

"I think I can unite the conference. I think I can go tell the country what we're doing and why it matters,” he told reporters, adding that he feels "confident" heading into the secret ballot vote.

[Foggy]

... [Gym Jordan] was actively trying to win over holdouts Friday morning, including a call to Scott, according to a GOP aide familiar with the matter.

Oh, dear. Those must have been some interesting conversations.

"Hi, I'm Gym Jordan and I'm asking for your vote for Speaker."

" you're a psycho-twistoid. I wouldn't vote for you to clean up dog crap on the streets of D.C."

... and then he called a few people who were really mean ...

[Atticus Finch]

The first call was to his mother. Then it went south thereafter.

[Slim Cognito]

"Hi, I'm Gym Jordan and I'm counting on you to help me wrestle down and pin this nomination so we can hit the showers and clean.................WHAT???!!!????

[neonzx]

Maybe they can mature this up a notch. How about Jim Jordan and Austin Scott compete in a challenge of Rock-Paper-Scissors ?

[Frater I*I]

Maybe they can mature this up a notch. How about Jim Jordan and Austin Scott compete in a challenge of Rock-Paper-Scissors ?

Or tridents and spears....